Origin

A small word with many distinct meanings, among them a loaf of bread, the central part of an ear of corn, a male swan, and a short-legged horse. What these senses all have in common is probably the underlying idea of being stout, rounded, or sturdy. The word, which may be related to Old English copp ‘top or head’, was originally used to refer to a strong man or leader. Cobble (Late Middle English), a rounded stone used for paving, derives from cob. Cobbler (Middle English), ‘a person who mends shoes’, is unconnected, and its origin is not known, although it is related to cobble meaning ‘to repair shoes’ and ‘to assemble roughly’. Cobblers, ‘rubbish’, is rhyming slang from cobbler's awls, ‘balls’.

Origin

A small word with many distinct meanings, among them a loaf of bread, the central part of an ear of corn, a male swan, and a short-legged horse. What these senses all have in common is probably the underlying idea of being stout, rounded, or sturdy. The word, which may be related to Old English copp ‘top or head’, was originally used to refer to a strong man or leader. Cobble (Late Middle English), a rounded stone used for paving, derives from cob. Cobbler (Middle English), ‘a person who mends shoes’, is unconnected, and its origin is not known, although it is related to cobble meaning ‘to repair shoes’ and ‘to assemble roughly’. Cobblers, ‘rubbish’, is rhyming slang from cobbler's awls, ‘balls’.

Origin

A small word with many distinct meanings, among them a loaf of bread, the central part of an ear of corn, a male swan, and a short-legged horse. What these senses all have in common is probably the underlying idea of being stout, rounded, or sturdy. The word, which may be related to Old English copp ‘top or head’, was originally used to refer to a strong man or leader. Cobble (Late Middle English), a rounded stone used for paving, derives from cob. Cobbler (Middle English), ‘a person who mends shoes’, is unconnected, and its origin is not known, although it is related to cobble meaning ‘to repair shoes’ and ‘to assemble roughly’. Cobblers, ‘rubbish’, is rhyming slang from cobbler's awls, ‘balls’.